Drill bits, air compressor taken at Home Depot

A 37-year-old Pontiac man was arrested on Tuesday, March 13, in connection with retail fraud at a Rochester Hills home improvement store in the 200 block of Avon.

A sheriff's deputy responded about 1:48 p.m. to the Home Depot, 225 W. Avon, for the report of a shoplifter. Upon arrival, the deputy spoke with a loss prevention employee at the store who had taken the man into custody.

The loss prevention officer told the deputy he saw two men and a woman come into the store together and immediately recognized one of the men as a person suspected of stealing an air compressor on March 9. The employee suspected one of the group, who had split up from the other two, was going to act as a lookout for a shoplifting excursion. Upon watching them, the employee said one of the men selected three large drill bits and attempted to walk out of the store without paying.

The man was stopped before leaving the store, at which point staff said he admitted to stealing the drill bits. The man also admitted to stealing the air compressor and claimed he would bring it back.

The man was arrested by the deputy in connection with retail fraud. The sheriff's office said the man was also wanted on an unrelated arrested warrant issued by the Friend of the Court. He was arrested and booked into the Oakland County Jail.